"I'll get you next time Gadget! Next time!" *hits desk with iron fist* (Inspector Gadget)

Member Name: martial_loh

Product:	Inspector Gadget
Date:	24/07/01 (635 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very funny, Cool gadgets, The cars!

Disadvantages: Its follow, Gadget Boy is very crappy.

Being a great cartoon fan, Inspector Gadget is another of my favourites (heck! what great 80s cartoon isnt?!)
First lets look at the characters:

Inspector Gadget - a police inspector with a difference. He has gadgets lurking all over his body - his arms, neck, feet, hands - everything is a gadget. Apparently in one of my old comics, it was a slip on a banana peel that did all of this to the inspector...a case of non-explained origin methinks... Gadget is an idiot to be plain and simple. He always chases the wrong people and usually sees the actual criminal themselves as nice "friendly" people!

Penny- The inspector's niece. Penny is waaay smarter than her uncle. She often tags along with him on missions - usually without him knowing - she stows away in the boot of the cool Gadget mobile (more on that later). Penny owns a very hi-tech computer book that puts the Men in Black to shame. It displays diagnostics of any building that she happens to find herself trapped in, not to mention it can hack into computers etc.! I wish you could get these in WH SMiths!!

Brain - Penny's Dog. Brain is a dog who understands English perfectly. He is used to follow Gadget, to keep him out of trouble. In Brain's collar, there is a speaker + headphone set, that allows him to communicate with Penny. I think he has a Dick Tracy -styled video watch too. What a lucky pooch. Brain is also smarter than Inspector Gadget... He also is a master of disguise - you'd ever notice his big red nose! Gadget never did!

The Chief - Gadget's boss. The chief pops up in the most obscure of places - restaurant food karts, herds of sheep, post boxes -you name it, hes been there in disguise. He hand delivers missions to Gadget -and always gets blown up by them - they self destruct - amazing what you can do with a piece of paper!

Doctor CLaw - the leader of the M.A.D organisation. He has a metallic hand. With nasty looking spikes on th
em. You never see his face, not to mention his body... There's always a cunningly planned back-of-the chair camera angle!! His trademark quote is "I'll get you Gadget!" - this is as overused as Gadget's "Wowsers!". The evil doctor owns one of the coolest cars in history - the MAD mobile -it drives, it flies and it swims... and it looks so great -black, red and yellow!

Madcat - Doctor Claw's cat. He almost gets pummelled by his owner's fist. He lives on the desk, and he has a great laugh -although not as rememorable as Muttley's (from Wacky Racers).

The general plot - Doctor Claw has some sort of evil plan. Gadget is sent to stop him. Penny and Brain will tag along - unknown to Gadget. Gadget meets some MAD agents and completely trusts them. Penny and Brain snoop around. Gadget gets very close to solving the case - but without knowing it. He then enters the main building/area where Doctor Claw usually is hiding. Penny will alert the Chief using her computer book. Gadget causes havoc with his clumsiness. He saves the hostage/destroys weapons etc.
The chief arrives with the rest of the police force. Doctor Claw flies away in his MAD mobile.
Now, Inspector Gadget always appealed to me because he drove a car. As a younger lad (Im still only 18), I was hooked on cars and things on wheels. And when I saw the Gadget Mobile transform........I was gobsmacked! From a lowly car - to a sleek-ish sporty number...what a dream! "Gogo Gadget Mobile!"

The opening theme was very simple. It contained very few words, and featured a fairly amusing animation - featuring all of the above listed characters.
It was the stupidity of the inspector, that always made me laugh. The MAD agents always looked the same in each episode, yet he failed to recognise them! His unpredictable gadgets also added an aspect of slapstick comedy that was not usually seen in cartoons too. The animation was smooth and loo
ked very good for its time. And it still looks great in my opinion.
The recent film adaptation of this show was a disgusting attempt. Generally Cartoons should never be made in to live action shows. I mean, one of the best features of the cartoon was the fact that you never saw Claw's face. But in the movie -you see his face within minutes of the start of the film!
ANyway, back to the cartoon - Inspector gadget is a cartoon suitable for all generations. Its appeal has an extreme longevity that is not seen in many other titles and I would like to think that the new generation of kids today can appreciate the show too.

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